


feel it in your touch

by foxwatson



Category: Bill & Ted (Movies)
Genre: First Kiss, M/M, Surprise Kissing, but they figure it out eventually, i literally don't know how else to describe this but like, morons to lovers, there's a good amount of kissing and also they're silly, your standard miscommunication and smooching fic you know
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-11
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-15 04:41:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28682700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foxwatson/pseuds/foxwatson
Summary: There’s nothing particularly special about the first day Ted comes home and kisses him on the cheek while he’s sitting at the table. That’s part of what makes it so confusing at first.
Relationships: Ted "Theodore" Logan/Bill S. Preston Esq.
Comments: 10
Kudos: 132





	feel it in your touch

**Author's Note:**

> title credit to exile's kiss you all over bc jkadsm well. kissing. idk.

There’s nothing particularly special about the first day Ted comes home and kisses him on the cheek while he’s sitting at the table. That’s part of what makes it so confusing at first. Bill’s just sitting there, doodling in his notebook, brow furrowed while he tries to come up with song ideas, and Ted comes bouncing in through the door same as always, but when he leans over Bill’s shoulder to see what he’s working on, he presses his lips just gently against Bill’s cheek.

“Hi, Bill!” he chirps, and then he’s standing back up, heading into the bedroom to change.

“Uh - hey, dude,” Bill stammers, turning around to look at the bedroom door. “Was work good?”

“Nah, it was pretty bogus, but - over now! And we got tomorrow off!” Ted, still changing, leans back out of the doorway to grin, arms still tangled up in a shirt, his hair a mess. “You wanna go to the movies or something?”

Bill’s heart is beating just a little too fast in his chest, and he rubs a hand over it as he keeps watching the bedroom door, watching Ted turn around to finish pulling his shirt on, watching the muscles in his back move until his shirt falls over them. “Maybe? Depends on what’s on, I guess,” he says, still busy staring.

“Good point, dude,” Ted says, and then he walks back into the kitchen and ducks his head in the fridge.

Some part of Bill’s brain is still stuck on the kiss, still remembering the softness of Ted’s slightly chapped lips as they pressed against his cheek, the way Ted’s hair had fallen into his face a little. He’s sort of waiting for explanation, but Ted doesn’t offer one - he’s just his usual cheery self, grabbing a snack and then settling on the couch, waiting for Bill to join him so they can watch TV together.

So he does, just like always, and he doesn’t bring it up.

Everything else feels pretty normal. They don’t sit too close on the couch - although suddenly it feels strange that Ted’s so far away. Bill wants to scoot closer, maybe press their knees together, maybe nudge Ted with his elbow when something’s funny. The two of them used to touch more when they were kids, before people had started to make fun of them for it. Now that they’re living together on their own, though, they have jobs and their own place - why couldn’t they be a little closer again? Why couldn’t Ted kiss him on the cheek when he comes home from work?

Taking a deep breath in, Bill scoots a little closer, just close enough that his knee nudges against Ted’s a little. Ted turns to him, and just smiles, offering him some chips before he turns back to the TV - and it’s totally fine.

Better than fine, really - it’s excellent.

Since their days off line up, there’s not really a moment where either of them comes home over the weekend, so Bill doesn’t know if the kiss was a one time thing or not. He keeps thinking about it, and he’s pretty sure it was just - an accident somehow. Something Ted did when he wasn’t really thinking about it, just off of work and distracted.

Their next day working lines up the same way, though, that Bill is already home when Ted’s coming home from work. At first he waits on the couch, watching TV - but then, nervous and a little embarrassed about it, he moves to the table, right by the door like last time, and settles in. He sort of tries to look like he’s doing something, but he can’t focus at all, listening for Ted, waiting for him to come up the stairs and come in.

As soon as he hears Ted’s familiar heavy footsteps, taking the stairs two at a time, Bill ducks his head over his notebook intently.

Ted comes in through the door, turns to find him at the table, and ducks down to kiss him on the cheek again.

Bill closes his eyes and turns into it a little, and smiles, taking a moment this time to appreciate the warmth of Ted’s skin, the curve of his lips where he’s smiling a little, the way he tucks his chin over Bill’s shoulder again, just for a moment.

“Whatcha working on, dude?” Ted asks, leaning on the chair, his head all nudged up against Bill’s.

Blinking, Bill looks down at the notebook and finds his own distracted doodles, barely remembering anything he’s done while he was waiting. “Just drawing and stuff. Trying to come up with ideas, you know?”

Ted nods, his hair brushing against Bill’s face, and then pulls back to stand up. “Good plan, dude! You probably think better when you’re drawing, like when you used to doodle in class and stuff.” He pats Bill on the shoulder, and then goes into the bedroom to change.

This time, Bill doesn’t turn around, forcing himself not to watch - but instead, he reaches up, brushing a hand over his still-flushed cheek, over the place Ted’s lips just were.

After that, it’s just part of their routine. Whenever Ted gets home from work, Bill sits at the table, and Ted gives him a kiss on the cheek. He does it just before he goes to feed the fish, or changes out of his uniform, or goes into the kitchen for a snack. It’s just another quiet little part of their day, but it always makes Bill smile, and it always makes him want to turn his head and give Ted a kiss back - but they never talk about it.

The first time Bill even thinks about asking about it again is when he has the later shift instead. All the way home from work, he worries. He’s not exactly sure how to handle it - but he doesn’t want to risk Ted thinking he’s not cool with it either.

In the end he decides - if Ted’s in the right place, Bill will just kiss him instead. It only makes sense. All the way up the stairs, he thinks about it - and when he reaches the apartment, he finds Ted in his usual seat at the table, tongue poking out of the corner of his mouth as he squints down at a notebook.

Bill smiles, and leans down and presses a soft, lingering kiss to Ted’s cheek, arm around his shoulders on the back of the chair. “Hey, dude,” he says as he pulls away again. “You get any good writing done?”

Ted turns around to look at him and then blinks, kind of dazed. He grins at Bill, and nods. “Yeah, dude. Well - I think so. You should take a look at it after dinner, maybe we can try to jam to it and figure it out.”

“Yeah, okay,” Bill tells him. He really wants to lean down and kiss Ted on the cheek again, or wrap an arm around his shoulders - but instead, he just ruffles his hair a little and laughs as Ted whacks at his hand in protest.

During their jam season, they sit so close that their knees keep bumping - and Bill pokes Ted in the shin with his bare foot throughout the night to get his attention.

It’s the start of something new, but something that feels kind of delicate. Bill doesn’t know how to talk about it - he just knows that now he always has a kiss on the cheek to look forward to. He knows that when they go to the movies, Ted pushes the armrest up out of the way and scoots in closer, complaining he can’t reach as good if it’s there. He knows that now, sometimes, they sit hip to hip on the couch, and Bill throws his arm over the back, and if he lets it slip down to rest on Ted’s shoulders, Ted doesn’t mind at all.

Each new kind of touch, each little thing Bill gets away with stirs a kind of warmth in his chest. Sometimes now, he wonders about what it would feel like if Ted leaned against him, or laid down with his head in Bill’s lap. He zones out during work or writing sessions just thinking about - touching Ted. Just touching him, completely innocently.

If sometimes, in other places, and in private, those thoughts take another turn, Bill’s still sort of shoving that to the back of his brain - because Ted’s his best friend, and just having this is something special.

Then, after over a month of their new afternoon tradition started, Ted comes home one day and he just - doesn’t. Bill sits at the table, just like always, and he listens for Ted on the stairs, but he can tell he sounds a little different. Still, he doesn’t let it bother him too much, he hears the door open, and he closes his eyes and turns his head just a little, waiting.

But Ted doesn’t duck in close. He doesn’t even start to. He just walks right past Bill without saying anything. Bill opens his eyes, confused, and watches as Ted walks into the kitchen. He doesn’t lean down and say hello to the fish - he doesn’t do anything he usually does.

“Ted?” he calls out.

“Yeah?” Ted says, softly, already inside the kitchen, probably looking for food.

Bill gets up from his chair and walks over, worried about his friend. Ted does seem sort of lost in thought - it seems like maybe he had a bad day. “You okay, dude?” Bill asks, stepping a little closer.

“Yeah, I’m okay, Bill,” Ted says, but he still won’t look over, ducking behind his hair.

It’s obvious that something’s wrong. Bill goes over to put a hand on his shoulder, though, just to check in with him or something, and Ted tenses up, just a little, stiffening under his touch. 

_Oh_. Bill pulls his hand back, quickly, and Ted’s shoulders curl up further - and Bill clenches his hand into a fist at his side. If Ted doesn’t want to be touched, that’s fine. That’s what they’ve been doing for years, after all, before the past month or so. Bill’s always been careful before, he can probably do it again.

“Are you sure?” Bill asks anyways, watching the tense line of Ted’s back.

“Yeah, Bill, you don’t gotta worry about it, I’m fine. Just - bogus day at work, you know? I’m gonna go take a nap.”

Ted finally just takes a glass of water, turns around, and brushes past Bill to head straight into the bedroom, closing the door behind him.

He’s never done that before. Usually even when he wants to take a nap, Bill just turns down the TV for him and tries to be quiet. Something’s obviously really, really wrong - and it most definitely wasn’t just a bogus day at work, because Ted is a terrible liar, and Bill knows it.

If Ted doesn’t want to talk about it, though, Bill doesn’t want to make him. He probably will later, once he’s feeling better. Knowing that if Ted does nap, he’ll probably wake up hungry, Bill orders takeout from their favorite Chinese place and has it delivered. He can’t really think of much else to help Ted cheer up, but maybe they can watch one of his favorite movies later, too - maybe even one of the ones he used to pretend in high school he didn’t like, like Singin’ in the Rain or Top Hat.

Except even after the food gets there, Ted doesn’t come out of their room. After a little bit, Bill goes over and knocks on the door, pushing it open to find the lights out and the room still dark.

“Ted?” he says quietly.

For a moment, Ted doesn’t respond. Bill almost leaves again, or goes over to wake him up, or something - but then Ted mumbles, “Yeah?”

“I got - food. Just from Top China, you know, where we always get it, and I - didn’t want it to get cold on you, dude. You’re probably hungry, right?”

“Yeah, kinda.” Ted sits up, rubbing at his face. Though his face is still in the shadows, Bill can see his expression in the light coming through the door, just the soft kind of surprise on it. “You got - noodles and stuff?”

“Yeah, your favorite, dude. Come eat before it gets cold.”

“Okay,” Ted says softly, and he stumbles out of bed, tugging on his shirt and then stretching, arms over his head.

Leaving the door open behind him, Bill turns and heads back over to the table, settling in before he finally pulls the boxes out of the bag and sorts out who gets what. He has Ted’s place at the table all set by the time he comes plodding out of the bedroom, still rubbing his eyes, and Bill can finally get a better look at him.

He’s still not exactly smiling, but he blinks at the food on the table and sits down across from Bill, opening the box and then shaking his hair out of his face so he can glance up at Bill. “Thanks, Bill,” he says finally.

Resisting the urge to reach over and touch, Bill just nods, digging into his own food. “Of course, dude.”

For the rest of the night, Bill carefully keeps his distance, and Ted seems to relax again. They finish up dinner, and settle in to watch a movie - although Ted suggests an action movie before Bill can even offer to watch one of Ted’s older favorites.

Whatever happened, Ted doesn’t mention it. 

But the next day after, and the next, when he comes home in the evening, even if Bill sits at the table - Ted walks right past, like they never had a new afternoon ritual.

It’s kind of heinous. Beyond whatever must have happened, Bill’s starting to worry that maybe he did something wrong. Or maybe worse, that somehow Ted realized that Bill liked it just a little too much - maybe his other casual touching, sitting closer on the couch or touching Ted’s shoulder that day, maybe that crossed a line somehow. He’s been careful ever since, but it doesn’t get rid of the sinking feeling in his stomach every time Ted comes in and doesn’t get close to him.

Things are just back to normal, the way they were before Ted kissed him - but now it feels strange somehow. Like a rejection. Every time, it feels like something bogus gets stuck in Bill’s throat and he has to swallow all the feelings down just to ask Ted how his day was.

His constant distraction is his only excuse for the fact that the next time he’s the one with a late shift, he comes home still leans down, half-distracted, to kiss Ted on the cheek.

Ted freezes, his shoulders all tense, pencil stopped on the paper, and Bill pulls back right away, pressing a hand over his mouth and rubbing, like it’ll distract him somehow from the soft warmth of Ted’s skin, and the way he can still feel it, just a little.

“Sorry, I’m sorry, dude, I forgot,” Bill mumbles, rubbing over his face and then rushing for the kitchen, for some water or basically anything as a distraction.

“What?” Ted says, sounding genuinely confused.

“I forgot we weren’t doing it anymore, I didn’t mean to- I didn’t mean to, Ted, honest,” Bill says, sort of hoping the sound of the water in the sink will drown him out a little. He’s so embarrassed he knows he must be red in the face, and he dips his fingers into the glass, pressing them to the back of his neck, trying to cool off. He finally just runs his hands under the spray, too, splashing more water on his face, hoping desperately that Ted will just let it go, and not try to keep asking about it.

“Dude - it’s okay,” Ted says, his voice close enough that Bill can tell he’s followed him into the kitchen.

Bill shakes his head, though, and avoids looking at him. “No, I know you don’t want me touching you and stuff, I just forgot, but I won’t - I know we’re not doing it anymore, I promise.”

“What do you - when did I say that?”

“You didn’t have to, dude,” Bill tells him, staring down into the sink. “That day you came home after you had a bad day, I like - I reached out and you got all keyed up, dude. And you stopped. I get it, you know, I - I mean, I don’t know why, cause you didn’t tell me, but it was probably weird anyways, right? I mean it was. It was weird. Of course it was, I’m just-” He clenches his hands into fists and crosses his arms, taking a deep breath. “I guess it just didn’t seem weird, to me.”

“Bill,” Ted says quietly, stepping a little closer - but Bill shuffles a little further away.

“You don’t have to. Just cause - I mean, if you don’t want to, you shouldn’t.”

“I didn’t think you would care if I stopped, dude,” Ted says quietly.

Even more embarrassed, Bill squeezes his eyes shut and tenses up a little, like he’s bracing for something. “Yeah I guess that probably would be - normal.”

“Bill,” Ted says again - and when he reaches out a hand, this time Bill leans into it instead of away, and lets Ted touch him.

He still can’t make himself relax. “I’m sorry, dude. Seriously. I promise I can be normal.”

“I kind of liked it the other way, too,” Ted tells him, taking another step closer. “I mean if that’s - that felt normal to me, too.”

Forcing his eyes open, Bill looks up at Ted’s face, at his furrowed brow and the twist of his mouth. Ted’s hand moves up and down, rubbing at his shoulder, and Bill relaxes, just slightly. “Then why’d you stop, dude? I didn’t wanna make you talk about it, but I don’t like, get it.”

Ted’s face scrunches up and he glances away, dropping his hand again. “I just - this guy at work - he said he saw us at the movies, and he-” Exhaling in a rush, Ted ducks his head. “He said he didn’t know we were like, a couple. And I told him we weren’t but he just kind of laughed, and it wasn’t - I don’t even think he meant it to be mean, dude, but it just made me realize that I - the stuff I was doing made other people think that. About you. And I wouldn’t care if it was just me, but - I didn’t mean to like, mess things up for you, at work and stuff.”

Bill frowns. “Ted, dude - I don’t care if other people think stuff like that. And especially - like at home it doesn’t matter, right?”

“I guess,” Ted says quietly, but he still doesn’t look up. “I guess I just felt like - maybe he had a point. Not - about us, you know, just that maybe - maybe it is a little weird, if we’re not dating. Just some of it. Like maybe we should only do that stuff - or, maybe anyone should, just if they feel like that, right?”

“And you don’t feel like that about me,” Bill says, tensing up again.

“Well I - I mean it doesn’t matter, right, cause you don’t, so it would be - weird.”

“Right,” Bill mumbles, scuffing the toe of his work shoe against the floor. “Yeah, no, that makes sense.”

“But-” Bill starts - and Ted says it at the exact same time. They look up together, and lock eyes, and then Ted flushes and looks away, so Bill does too.

“You go ahead, dude,” Bill tells him.

“I don’t know. I guess I was just gonna say - I guess if you liked it too-”

“I think-” Bill cuts him off, too nervous to stop himself. “I think I liked it too much, dude. If - I mean maybe you’re right, and that dude from work was right, and we shouldn’t do it if you don’t - feel like that.”

“Liked it too much?” Ted asks, meeting Bill’s eyes again, his dark eyes and pink cheeks coming into view as he shakes his hair out of his face.

“Well it just- it was really heinous when you just stopped out of nowhere. And I - I really like touching you, dude. But I don’t wanna do anything you don’t like.”

“But - what if I liked it too much, too?”

Bill feels his own eyebrows shoot up with surprise - and Ted, honestly, looks just as surprised as he does. For a moment, they just stand there. Then Bill steps forward, close enough his feet are nearly bumping Ted’s. “Ted, dude, I - I think I wanna kiss you.”

Ted’s flush deepens, but he just stays right where he is, staring at Bill’s face. “I think I want you to, dude,” he says quietly.

They both lean in hesitantly - Ted ducking in closer, and Bill steadying himself on Ted’s shoulder as he leans up. For a second, their noses bump, and Ted giggles a little as he tilts his head - and he leans down closer, letting Bill fall back onto his feet properly, tugging Ted down with him. Bill closes his eyes, and presses forward to seek out Ted’s mouth - and kisses him square on the lips.

Ted’s lips are still a little chapped - but soft, still, and warm the way they always felt against Bill’s cheek. Bill wraps his arm around Ted’s shoulder, sliding down onto his back, holding him close, and Ted puts his hands gently on Bill’s waist.

After a moment, they pull apart, and both of them sigh out a quiet, “Whoa.”

Ted laughs again, and Bill can feel the way his nose scrunches up as he nudges in closer, but he just presses their mouths together again, and again, catching Ted’s bottom lip in between his, tugging at it with his teeth, licking inside to taste Ted’s laughter.

He pulls back, wondering if he should say something - but then Ted leans forward and kisses him again, his lips catching a little as they move against Bill’s. Then Bill parts his lips, and they’re kissing properly, open-mouthed, jaws working as they find all the ways their mouths can fit together and press. Ted moans into the kiss, and Bill pulls him just a little bit closer in response, kisses him harder, all pressure and warmth.

As they separate again, Bill opens his eyes and glances down at Ted’s mouth, the way his lips look a little red, still damp, even more kissable with the way they catch the light.

“Bill,” Ted says quietly. “I most definitely feel like that.”

Bill smiles, and looks up to meet Ted’s eyes, brushing his bangs softly out of the way. “Yeah, me, too, dude.”

Ted grins. “Excellent.”

They laugh together, and both of them lean in for another kiss - sloppy and off-center because of the way they’re both still giggling, but they just keep trying, again and again til they get it right.

“Does this mean that dude at work was right?” Ted asks, rubbing his nose against Bill’s, arms wrapped around his shoulders, curled in close.

“I guess so, if we’re dating,” Bill tells him, sliding his hands just under the hem of Ted’s shirt.

Ted nods happily, tightening his arms around Bill to hug him. “Yeah, I guess so,” he mumbles, smiling all the way through.

Bill plays a little air guitar against Ted’s skin, and he can feel Ted do the same behind his back - and then they both lean in for another kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> I KNOW it's very short sweet and to the point, bUT SOMETIMES THAT'S JUST. what you want right!! well anyways sorry i just keep writing a bunch of short things, i promise a long one is coming, maybe i can get back to it now. in the mean time, i hope you enjoyed this!! find me on twitter @eddykaspbraks or just tell me here! either way, thank you for reading.


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